26-year-old in line for county board chairmanship

Democratic gains in Tuesday’s election paved the way for county Commissioner Dave Flynn of Sterling Heights to unseat county board Chair Kathy Vosburg, who for two years has served as a Republican leading a board with a Democratic majority.
At age 26, Flynn would be the youngest board chair in Macomb County history. Because the Nov. 6 elections altered the board’s makeup, from a 7-6 edge to a 9-4 advantage for Democrats, Flynn is expected to be the Democratic standardbearer – and the favorite – when the commissioners vote in January for a 2013-14 chair.
“The Democrats obviously are in a position to hold onto the leadership now that we have a supermajority,” said Flynn, who indicated that no other Democrats have announced their intention to run for the top spot. “I’m strongly interested in running for board chair but I need to have some more conversations with other commissioners.”
Vosburg, a Chesterfield Township Republican, said she will not discuss the chairmanship until the rest of the commissioners’ 2012 business is completed – primarily the adoption of a 2013 county budget.
Flynn, first elected to the board in 2006 as the youngest commissioner ever, made his first bid for the chairmanship two years ago, in January 2011. With two Democrats and one Republican in the running, on the fourth ballot longtime Democratic Commissioner Marv Sauger of Center Line switched his vote to Vosburg, putting her over the top.
Support for Flynn, the son of former longtime teachers’ union official Rick Flynn, never exceeded four votes. Commissioner Bob Smith shunned Flynn, sticking with the third candidate, fellow Democrat Phil DiMaria. Following an unsuccessful run for state House, DiMaria will be leaving the board at the end of this year.
This time, Smith said he would be satisfied with supporting Flynn.
“I think Kathy did a pretty good job,” said Smith, a Clinton Township Democrat and the brother of county Prosecutor Eric Smith. “But some people think it’s time for a change because, if nothing else, because of the makeup of the new board.”
Three Democrats are newcomers to the Board of Commissioners, though two are returning after losing re-election in 2010: Commissioner-elect Rob Mijac of Sterling Heights and Commissioner-elect Mike Boyle of St. Clair Shores. The third rookie will be Veronica Klinefelt of Eastpointe, who has previously served on the East Detroit school board and the Eastpointe City Council.
Meanwhile, the current board must complete its budget process during the lame-duck session – by Dec. 31.
Vosburg continues to butt heads with County Executive Mark Hackel and his top aides over budget matters. At the same time, the board chair’s office is “still celebrating” their Oct. 29 Michigan Appeals Court victory, which requires the Hackel administration to submit certain government contracts and purchase orders to the board for approval.
Over the last several days, Vosburg said, the County Executive’s Office has been sending contracts to the board for approval on a regular basis.
Yet, the board chair is still awaiting information left out of the Roads Department budget, mostly related to salaries and benefits for upper management employees. In addition, she is fending off a Hackel demand that any request for detailed information about his proposed budget must be submitted in the form of a resolution approved by a majority vote of the 13-member board.
In an Oct. 22 memo, Hackel said that a more structured process was needed because in a 36-hour period in September three different groups of commissioners had requested three different sets of numbers related to the Roads Department.
At a Board of Commissioners budget session on Friday morning, the commissioners hit back, passing a resolution that says the board chair, vice chair and Finance Committee chair all have the authority to individually seek budget facts and figures.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Vosburg said, “and we need to get it done and do it right.”